An honest examination shows pain related to rheumatoid disease may frequently be better described as recurrent acute pain than classic chronic pain. Is “chronic pain” the right way to describe Rheumatoid Disease pain? According to the National Institutes of Health, chronic pain is “any pain lasting more than 12 weeks. Whereas acute pain is a […]

“The Mediterranean diet, rich in fish, plant food, mono- and polyunsaturated fat, and including moderate wine consumption, has been suggested to protect against e.g. cardiovascular disease, but its effect on RA development has only been studied to a limited extent.”[1] Do Mediterranean or vegetarian diets impact Rheumatoid Arthritis risk? The Swedish Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid […]

Common myths about RA linger in college classes In an immunology teaching lab class this semester, my daughter Katie Beth (KB) learned how to perform a rheumatoid factor test (latex agglutination). Prior to that lecture, KB read through the professor’s slides in the syllabus. She noticed the material included several common errors about Rheumatoid Disease […]

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a brief discussion of posterior tibial tendonitis in “Rheumatoid Arthritis” (RA) / Rheumatoid Disease (RD). There is a long list of topics I want to cover, but sometimes the RD itself pushes other things farther down the page. This week, I continued to have problems putting weight on […]

Fear of medicine Have you ever been afraid of taking medicine? I have. Who knew that there’s actually a name for a fear of medication: pharmacophobia. Appearing irrational to Dr. Laptop As if I were once again the 19 year-old girl who quit taking thyroid medication, the day I learned I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid […]

(Have you discontinued Cimzia? See note below blog.) The main misconception about bones then, is that they are made up of dead tissue. This is not true, they have cells, nerves, blood vessels and pain receptors.1 Ever hear that bones can’t hurt? Did you ever have the flu or a fever and your bones just […]

(Have you discontinued Cimzia? See note below blog.) One of the biggest problems with getting care for rheumatoid disease is that symptoms do not look exactly the same every day. Of course along with that is the fact that many symptoms aren’t clearly visible anyway, hence the term “invisible illness.” Anyway, it seems like it […]

“Not running sucks” & “Don’t just RUN your mouth” I stopped short when I saw this Nike t-shirt display in a mall recently. I had to get a picture of these t-shirts and ask the salesman, “Do you sell a lot of these? Do people like them?” He said they do. I just smiled and […]

Show me your erosions or else Some of you may remember last year when we met Dr. Shrug who gave my foot an ultimatum: Show me a bone erosion, or no more DMARDs. We only ever saw the doc once (more than enough). It was Dr. Tylenol’s partner, who they scheduled us with since Dr. […]

Rheumatoid Awareness Day (RAD) was yesterday February 2, but since the day fell on Sunday this year, the events continue this week. Today at 11 a.m. EST, I’ll co-host a Twitter chat in honor of Rheumatoid Awareness Day with EveryDay Health. Click here to read more or see how to participate. The hashtag is #HealthTalk. […]

Rheumatoid Awareness Day is only ONE day away. Join us this morning February 1 at 10 a.m. ET for a special Twitter #rheum chat. RPF is inviting clinicians, patients, and caregivers to Tweet at least once to help spread awareness. Join in by just adding “#rheum” to a Tweet – or click here to read […]

Sometimes my #rheum disease and my silly sense of humor get all twisted together into a goofball smoothie. Anyone who’s spent time with me can attest to my devotion to silliness. I’ve been daydreaming about how food ads remind me of RD. I hope you’ll enjoy a little humorous diversion. Laughter makes a great defense […]

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